It is known to provide a retractable hardtop convertible roof for an automotive vehicle. Traditionally, such hardtop convertible roofs have been accomplished by employing a plurality of rigid roof panels which either slide rearwardly over one another during retraction or pivot relative to one another an adjacent position during retraction. These retracting roof panels are mechanically stowed behind a passenger seating area or in a trunk of the automotive vehicle. When stowing the roof panels in the trunk, the roof panels intrude on the trunk space and may preempt storage space within the trunk such that the trunk is not usable when the roof panels are retracted. On vehicles with shorter passenger seating compartments, the retractable hardtop convertible roof usually employs two panels and on vehicles with longer passenger seating compartments, the retractable hardtop convertible roof usually employs three panels in an attempt to minimize the packaging space required for stowing the retracted panels. Even the use of three panels, however, infringes into the trunk space and can preempt storage space within the trunk. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a retractable hardtop convertible roof that minimizes the packaging space occupied when retracted to maximize the available storage space within the trunk when the hardtop convertible roof is retracted.
When storing the retracted panels of the hardtop convertible roof behind the passenger space, the rear wheel wells or housings of the vehicle present an obstruction between and around which the panels of the hardtop convertible roof are maneuvered or positioned when being retracted and stowed in the retracted position. To overcome the obstruction of the wheel housings, a hardtop convertible roof was developed that provided a means for retracting and extending the front and rear roof sections clear of the obtrusive rear wheel housings within the automotive vehicle body. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,375 entitled “Retractable Hard-Top for an Automotive Vehicle” which issued to Alexander et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. However, this approach required a semi-complex mechanism to perform the movements of the front and rear roof sections in order to clear the rear wheel housings. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a retractable hardtop convertible roof for an automotive vehicle which clears a pair of obstructing wheel housings during retraction and accomplishes such with simple mechanical linkages and arrangements. Additionally, it would be advantageous if such a mechanism maintained a significant amount of storage space within the vehicle's trunk when in the retracted position.
In an attempt to maximize storage space, some retractable hardtop convertible roof systems have been developed which swing a rigid roof member into a passenger compartment of the automotive vehicle. Furthermore, these systems stow the retracted roof panels in a substantially vertical orientation behind either the front or rear seats. While these conventional systems maintain the storage space within the trunk, the retracted roof panels are often stored in an unsightly manner. Examples of two such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,798 entitled “Retractable Roof for Vehicles” which issued to Klein et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,634 entitled “Upper Body Structure for a Convertible Vehicle” which issued to Shiraishi et al. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a retractable hardtop convertible roof for an automotive vehicle which retracts to an aesthetically pleasing position and maintains storage space within the vehicle's trunk while avoiding the aforementioned problems.
In accordance with the present invention, the preferred embodiment of a hardtop convertible roof for an automotive vehicle includes at least three rigid roof panels that are each retractable and wherein at least two of the panels are directly connected to fixed pivots and rotate about the fixed pivot when being retracted. In another aspect, one of the panels is directly connected to a fixed pivot that is located between rear wheel housings on the vehicle and the panel rotates about the fixed pivot when moving between raised and stowed positions. In yet another aspect, a rearmost roof section is directly connected to a fixed pivot and rotates rearwardly about the fixed pivot less than about 90° when moving from the raised to the stowed position. In a different aspect, the convertible roof for a vehicle includes at least four substantially rigid roof sections that are retractable and at least one of the roof sections is directly connected to a fixed pivot about which it rotates when moving between the raised and stowed positions.
The present invention is advantageous over traditional designs in that a number of the roof panels are directly connected to fixed pivots which simplifies the mechanism used to move the roof panels between raised and stowed positions. Furthermore, the present invention is advantageous through the use of four roof panels which allows for efficient stowing of the panels when retracted and minimizes the intrusion into the trunk space. The present invention also provides a system for retracting and extending the roof sections without being hindered by the obtrusive rear wheel housings within the automotive vehicle body. Furthermore, the present invention is advantageous in that an exterior surface of one of the roof panels covers a portion of the stowage area within which the hardtop convertible roof is stowed when retracted to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.